York County lies within the Olde English region of South Carolina. The county and its seat are named in honor of York County, Pennsylvania.
Catawba Indians initially inhabited the region before they ceded control of the area to the United States via treaty in 1763. After this treaty was signed, a great number of Scotch-Irish from both Pennsylvania and the South Carolina Lowcountry began to settle the area.
The county was founded in 1785 within the Camden District. It later belonged to the Pinckney District before becoming its own district. During the Revolutionary War, the battles of Williamson’s Plantation and King’s Mountain took place here.
Initially, the economy relied on small cotton farms. However, over time the economy transitioned from cotton farming to cotton processing and became dependent on the textile industry.
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The student prisoners were finally released, after serving twenty eight days, on March 2, 1961. The prisoners were released early, since prison officials wanted to keep publicity down. The success of...
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Rev. Ivory, and James McCain, the South Carolina leader of CORE, arranged for a sharp, young attorney to represent and defend the student protesters: Ernest J. Finney. Finney would later on become the...
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"Chief Blue towers over his wife, with his more than 6-foot frame. Their son, Nelson Blue, has now assumed command of the Catawba tribe," says the caption on this 1950s photo. Courtesy of the South...
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"Indian Pottery for Sale." This photo was taken by Louise Jones Dubose when she visited the Catawba reservation in connection with her office as assistant director of the WPA Writers Project in the...
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This is one of a series of photos from a collection made by Mrs. I.A. Robertson in 1908. She had long been interested in the Catawba Native Americans and their pottery, and often visited their...
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This group of Winthrop College students called their music organization The Caterwaulers, in a photo which appeared in the college 1910 yearbook. Courtesy of the South Caroliniana Library.
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Winthrop College students of the 1970s gather outdoors with a guitar on a warm spring day. Courtesy of the Winthrop University Archives.
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The chariot of a circus parade rolls through the Main Street of Rock Hill amid the crowd in 1897. Courtesy of the Winthrop University Archives.
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This photograph from the album of J.S. White records a picnic in the vicinity of Rock Hill in May of 1897. Courtesy of the Winthrop University Archives.
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Winthrop students in the Home Economics Department prepare and serve an elaborate outdoor tea, around 1950. Note the white gloves and hats. Courtesy of the Winthrop University Archives.